one small seed issue 4 by one small seed

sowing since 2005

the south african contemporary culture magazine

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s issu t n

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09 ¦photographic indulgence some things shout to be photographed 35 ¦zurich architecture think outside the ‘swiss box’ 41 ¦cultural exchange artists out of residence 44 ¦norm designers who do fonts 49 ¦room 13 contains the secrets behind fine design 54 ¦kiffness the calyx of roxanne silverwood 59 ¦hidden genius who is nikhil singh? 66 ¦fashion design why crafts, dolls and pekingese are relevant to design 89 ¦plastic factory a new life to an industrial landmark 96 ¦infill house the house on the hill is signalling a stir 102 ¦re-thinking public transport fifth element meets the parisian mobility 107 ¦art adventures painting with the brush of irony 112 ¦a brave new world warren lewis chucks and paints his way across town 116 ¦sound and pictures the process unveiled at the premises 122 ¦gang mentality artist collective retaliates with the tale of how 126 ¦filmmaker seeks south african husband for his leading lady 128 ¦rationally irrational crashing through the city with anne-sophie leens 132 ¦ontwerp a high octane imagination factory 136 ¦revel fox flying high while merging life with art 140 ¦it’s all akademik soundtific equations 143 ¦beat junkie lungelo creates a sensational collision 146 ¦black betty not a prissy all girl band after all 148 ¦dvd reviews 150 ¦music reviews 152 ¦loading.… creative sites 154 ¦interface making the connection 156 ¦subscription 158 ¦competition Adobe/one small seed design collaboration with great prizes

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fourth issue founder and and editor-in-chief giuseppe russo sub-editor amelia burger graphic designer tracey-lee scully copy writer cara messias editorial contributors jd van zyl, ralph borland, jenna mervis, sd3000, leigh van den berg, leonie von hase, iain louw, alta steenkamp, claire abrahamse, dylan culhane, liam lynch, zane henry, elan gamaker, athos kyriakides photographers dean elliott, madoda mahlangu, gabrielle brown – issue03. sacha waldman, marco grob, stephanie dinkel, mareli esterhuizen, axel pfennigschmidt, barbara burg, oliver schuh, heinrich helfenstein, hannes henz, edmund sumner, ralph bensberg, mike hall, peter regli, nicola grobler, tom buchanan, misha taylor, sean lorens, mario todeschini, courtney forbes, warren lewis, dylan culhane, liam lynch, jan turnbull, brett rubin special thanks margherita felitti, barbara bassi, miranda madikane williams and catherine widrig jenkins from pro helvetia, rianette leibowitz from adobe, pietro russo, judith nelson, amanda from the silk and cotton co, christian fixl, raphael billotte, brett rubin from street heart studios, boss model agency, gavin, marco grob, nikhil singh, rizia, tara, helet, melissa, melissa o and katie editorial address: 5 constitution street, east city precinct, cape town, 8001 tel: +27 (0) 21 461 6973 ¦ fax: +27 (0) 21 461 9558 email: contact@onesmallseed.com published by designed04 advertising sales and subscription enquiries: +27 (0)21 461 6973, contact@onesmallseed.com

The small print: No responsibility can be taken for the quality and accuracy of the reproductions, as this is dependent on the quality of the material supplied. No responsibility can be taken for typographical errors. The publishers reserve the right to refuse and edit material. All prices and specifications are subject to change without notice. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. No responsibility will be taken for any decision made by the reader as a result of such opinions. Copyright one small seed South Africa. All rights reserved. Both the name ‘one small seed’ and are copyright protected. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written consent from the publisher. one small seed does not accept responsibility for unsolicited material. This is a quarterly publication. ISSN 1816-8965.

not so small after all… Just on a year ago we have planted the first seed in the fertile soil of South Africa, and through the support of those around us – collectives, enthusiasts, advertisers, supporters and contributors – we have been able to grow at a pace beyond the imagination of the most optimistic among us. All this would not have been possible without you. It is with confidence and appreciation that we give you this bigger, bolder and more visual fourth edition of one small seed. A zenith at 160 pages; generously filled with the realization of your original ideas, collaborations and imagination transformed into the sensory realm, as promised from day one. Get right down to it with 23 pages of photographic artistry and skill and work your way along to our newly reconstructed fashion section while passing through Zurich, which is covered in our international focus. You’ll find music reviews and interface et al under the new title, kulturtainment and in collaboration with Adobe we’re running a design competition with creative suites and software packages to give away, so get busy. You’ll notice that a lot of the content spirals around woman as creatives – this is in celebration of Women’s Day in August. This female input ranges across all the genres and presents artists at various junctures of their artistic lives. Of all the things that have changed, increased and improved over the last year, that root-cause – to showcase creative virtuoso - has remained unchanged throughout it all. The proof of our success is measured by the quality of our content and this is evident of where South African creativity is headed. We are honoured to be the vehicle of this journey. Your feedback is always appreciated so email us to feedback@onesmallseed.com and let us know your thoughts. We’re always looking for fresh talent, so if you are an emerging designer, photographer, artist or creator of any other kind, do get in touch with us. We’d like to make special mention of Jimmy Strats for his unfailing support and alliance with the seed.

Photograph by Brett Rubin

photography what makes them click? sacha waldman, marco grob, stephanie dinkel, axel pfennigschimdt and mareli esterhuizen

LOOKING through the lens Photography is magic – a split second frozen in time. Some photographers capture details that appear inconsequential and by freezing it in a frame, elevate it to the realms of the artistically endowed. Others trap a fleeting expression that brushed across somebody’s face or use various layers over the photograph to introduce a veil of mystique. We have selected five photographers, local and beyond, to showcase over the next 23 pages. These artists have been chosen carefully and all have an individual style, which runs, distinguishes their work. In fact, the importance of creating your own style is a mantra that you will often come across in this section. ‘A good photographer is someone who applies a fingerprint to their work,’ says Martin Osner, Founder of National College of Photography, ‘that is what commercial directors are after.’ Although technical skills should never be underestimated, individuality is what sets photographers apart. It may seem a rather obvious statement – to be special and different and all. But Marco Grob makes more sense of it by saying that South African photographers often compromise their style to ensure they get the job, when it should be just the other way round – getting the job because of your style. Photographers know they are at the peak of their career when their photos are identified by the way they shoot, and not so much what they shoot. On average Osner reckons commercial South African photographers fall short in quality when compared to their European equals. ‘We have a free market where everybody can print a business card to say they are a photographer, and the industry lacks strong guidelines,’ he adds.

But what we might lack on the commercial plane, we make up on the fine art field. ‘Our quality of fine art photography is very high, even when compared internationally’ he says, ‘but the public still need to be educated about this genre as a form of art.’ The beauty of fine art photography is that it is everything that commercial photography is not. Fine art photographers often aim to take photography back to a time when the art form was less perfect, lenses were not so crisp and images weren’t saturated with vivid colour. To do this they shoot through plastic, add extra texture by layering an image with dust or hair or glue and distort the image through any one of a myriad of processes. Where there are clear guidelines in the commercial photography about the margins of error, in fine art shooting those errors become possibilities to create new effects. ‘Some of the worst photographic mistakes that were made in the past, are processes we use regularly today,’ adds Osner. Photography appeals to a part in everybody. Whether you’re a happy-snapper, a seasoned photographer or just somebody who enjoys looking at beautiful images, this photographic showcase will be sure to inspire you. By JD van Zyl ¦ Photograph by Marco Grob

Sacha Waldman 10

Imagine the picture of your great-grandmother – the ‘30s monochrome one that has been coloured with pastel and hangs in an oval tortoise-shell frame. Now fuse that airbrushed feel with pin-sharp photography, plenty of modern interpretation and move the saturation slider way to the right. This may give you an inkling of what Sacha’s photography-meets-illustration images look like. You see, describing Sacha Waldman’s work is no easy task. Even his own words flounders when he says: ‘It is illustrative, realistic, photo manipulation I guess.’ What is easy to express, however, is the uniqueness of his style when it was first created, and the influence it had on the digital photographic industry. ‘I always wanted to be different and to have my own style,‘ he says. ‘Many new photographers that enter the industry look at photographic icons and try to recreate their style. I didn’t want to recreate anything, and didn’t even really look at books. I was just experimenting until I found something that pleased me and I got the quality to a level where I was happy with it. It was a completely natural process.‘ Sacha’s first big break in the commercial world happened through the American hip hop industry. The not-from-this-world style that he had been developing was a natural fit with the industry and soon he was shooting stills and working on album covers with stars like Eminem, 50 Cent, The Neptunes, Ludacris and Missy-Elliot.

Much of his magic happens in post. ‘My postproduction work is not anal, it is light and free and everything is done by hand,‘ he says. He sees himself as a painter – brush exchanged for graphic pen and tablet – with a unique palette that is inflicted on every digital portrait. ‘Every detail in the photo is manipulated by hand, darkened or lightened or otherwise changed till I’m satisfied with the level. It is not possible to repeat this process. Every picture is completely unique.‘ The risk exists to overdo a good thing when digital manipulation forms a vital part of your photographic style. Sacha says that the balance between a good photograph and what you can achieve in Photoshop afterwards is an import one. Experience creates an understanding of that balance. ‘I shoot all digital all the time and shoot with digital in mind. In other words I shoot for the end result, you have to do this in order to pull it off properly,‘ he adds. Popularity of his look has never been disputed, but this was never more clearly illustrated than when he shot pictures of the San Francisco Giants for their outdoor campaign. Soon after launching the campaign the agency had to start replacing the posters that were being lifted from the bus shelters where they went up by overzealous baseball fans. When your work gets stolen, you know that it is good and different. But the Sacha Waldman-style is no longer unique. Something so revolutionary never will stay fresh for long before others cotton onto it. Sacha is again evolving to create something that is completely fresh in the industry. ‘You need to constantly reinvent your palette so that you can adapt to a changing environment,‘ he explains. ‘I am currently working on a new style that really hones in on detail. It is very descriptive story telling and very tight. It is important to keep the competition on the back-foot...‘ he chortles.

Sacha Waldman is one of the most influential photographers of our time. His work has appeared in Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, New York Times and Time Magazine to mention but a few. His portfolio includes numerous famous faces – ranging from David Bowie, Ali G, Joaquin Phoenix and Haley-Joel Osment to politicians like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg – otherworldly streetscapes, landscapes and more. He has also done work for are Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Mountain Dew, BMW and Chrysler. Sacha uses a Mamiya 645 camera with a LEAF digital back. For more of his work visit www.sachawaldman.com.

Bloomberg ¦ Photographer Sacha Waldman

Moby ÂŚ Photographer Sacha Waldman

Fashion ÂŚ Photographer Sacha Waldman

‘Gun it’ ¦ Photographer Sacha Waldman

Udo Kier ÂŚ Photographer Sacha Waldman

Boy George ÂŚ Photographer Marco Grob

Marco Grob

When you have made it big in the international world of photography, like Marco Grob has, you are expected to have an entourage that is as impressive as the amount of A-list celebrities in your portie. But Marco likes to keep shoots personal and tightly restricts the amount of equipment and staff with which he works. Although his portfolio includes work for some of the most sought after fashion labels and international publications and yes, hot-shot celebrities aplenty, he seldom shoots with more than one assistant. His work happens with complete focus and in mind-blowing time. ‘By the time they are ready, I am finished.‘ That is Marco’s recipe for success when freezing the emotion on faces of celebrities to the likes of Ronan Keating, Seal and Boy George. ‘These people do more shoots than I do. If I give them time to go into their photo face, they’re gone and my photo will look the same as their album cover. I don’t want that.‘ The result of his final images is portraits that speak of emotional tension and are rich in energy and texture. ‘For me taking portraits is like a dialogue, I am that close to the person,‘ he says, using his forearm to indicate the intimate distance. ‘We can feel each other breathe.‘ Too many people milling around the shoot would simply disturb Marco’s absolute concentration. ‘I never shoot more than 10 shots on a subject, my statistics show that it is usually eight,‘ he states matter-of-factly with only a hint of a smile visible. ‘If I don’t have it then, I never will.‘ The Swiss-born photographer makes no bones about his need for a completely controlled environment when doing a shoot. ‘Before the person walks through the door I prepare my mind like an athlete who is about to do a sprint and make sure that when the person arrives I am completely ready. In my studio he belongs to me…‘ That same sense of control is reflected when working for a client. Marco feels strongly about his style and won’t bargain with it for anybody. ‘You cannot compromise art,‘ he explains. ‘People come to me with a reference from Vanity Fair and ask me to shoot like that. I can’t. If that’s what they want then they must get Annie Leibowitz!‘ Creating your style and standing by it no matter what is something he feels South African photographers still have to learn.

with the support of Pro Helvetia, Swiss Arts Council

He explains that local photographers go about business in exactly the opposite way their European counterparts do. ‘In Europe you first create your style and you do everything exactly the way you want to do it and you don’t compromise yourself.‘ And if you have chosen a photographer based on a style that suits your requirements, then best not to cramp their style, as it were. ‘I don’t follow briefs. I never have. A brief is like a basic guideline. It’s like a trampoline that you jump on, and I’m getting paid to achieve as much height out of that original brief as possible.‘ He tells the story of a 1.8 million euros shoot for an international insurance company that was done at numerous locations across the globe – from Paris to Panama. The first time the Art Director saw the photos was when the photographer returned from his around-the-world trip. In Marco’s words: ‘Choose the right people and just let them get on with it!‘ Marco Grob was born near Zurich, Switzerland, and now lives wherever his camera leads him. He gained practical experience as photographic assistant to Chris Ann Miller in Los Angeles and never formally studied photography. He uses a digital Hasselblatt H2 with an Ixpress 22 megapixel digital back. For more of his work visit www.marcogrob.com

Reto Burrel, Singer/Songwriter Photographer Marco Grob

Alvin Chea, Take 6 Photographer Marco Grob

Buena Vista Social Club, Band leader Photographer Marco Grob

Mortimer Harvey, A-Ha Photographer Marco Grob

Stephanie Dinkel

with the support of Pro Helvetia, Swiss Arts Council

It was quite by accident that Stephanie Dinkel found her way into photography. During a bout of unemployment she met a photographer who offered her a position as Photographical Assistant. Over the last three years Stephanie has garnered extensive experience under the guidance of numerous photographers, and has now taken the camera into her own hands. The result of which are sprawled across these pages, leaving little room to doubt her already elevated reputation.

Stephanie’s preferred genre is beauty photography. Her beauty images are fresh and sharp, and her models are marked by soft tones and diffused light and an almost plastic, doll-like feel. ‘The relationship between a model and photographer is very important,’ she says. ‘A model must feel comfortable in front of the camera so that they can perform at their optimum.’

To balance the demands of an art director with a photographer’s creative drive can be a frustrating process for both parties involved. Stephanie’s encourages photographers to create a signature style on which clients can evaluate their suitability to a specific project. ‘When a client books me because of my style or visual language, we both already know that we have the same direction in mind,’ she explains. ‘Of course there are also differences in opinion from which something could be gained because you get feedback from someone with a different viewpoint.’ The relationship between shadow and light in Stephanie’s photography is carefully balanced and her photos are crisp like a bit from an apple. We look forward to seeing more of her work as she carves a niche for herself in the photographic industry. Swiss photographer, Stephanie Dinkel is currently using a Hasselbladt H2 camera with an Imacon 22 megapixel back.

Mareli Esterhuizen

28 Born into a family of photographers, Mareli has always been fascinated by depicting emotions through photography. Her Photographic Emotions series consists of five subsections: Suppression, Yearning, Birth, Free and Breathe – and each theme explores different shades of human sentiments. ‘My work is an expression of emotions and the different seasons in my life. It voices my dreams and fears in times of abundance as well as solitude. It is about passionately expressing everything I am, what I believe in and love,’ Mareli explains.

from the series, Yearning

29 Her work exclusively sticks to the fine art photography sphere and often includes layers of organic products that create extra texture. ‘I don’t start with a preconceived concept,’ she says about the process of creating her unique images, ‘it is more like a thought which then evolves into something more concrete.’ Mareli’s style started with scratching the negatives to create extra texture on the final image, but this resulted in lines that were too hard, rigid and intense. More recently she has been experimenting with various materials, often organic, that range from hair and dust to glue that is dripped on a translucent substrate. After these various materials have been scanned, they are layered over the scanned negative. ‘By adding another layer, the photos appear less realistic,’ she adds. ‘It is almost like introducing a veil of mystery between the photograph and the viewer, and it introduces extra tension in the photo.’ Mareli completed a National Diploma in Photography at the Port Elizabeth Technikon, and a BTech Photography degree. She has won the AGFA-Award for Best Portfolio and the EPSAC Annual Exhibition trophy for Best of Show. She uses a Nikon F5 35mm SLR camera.

from the series, Breathe

Axel Pfennigschmidt Graphic detail takes on a whole new meaning with this German photographer’s abstract images. Axel removes seemingly innocuous detail, like rough tears in wall-glued posters, from its surrounding by tightly cropping into the photo. The result is an image that is photograph and abstract art in equal measures. ‘I have always been a very visual person and these images are like a diary of puzzle pieces that bring back memories from places I have been and travels I’ve made,’ Axel explains. ‘The detail that I photograph is part of everyday life that passes unnoticeably by people. Taking a photo of it is like making the invisible visible.’

Axel explains that his photographs work because of the symphony between the various objects, similar to a collage, and because of its abstract nature. ‘The pictures almost act like optical illusions where the viewers’ eyes switch between the real and surreal as they try to figure out what the photograph is all about. Because the subjects are often multilayered, the final picture also has somewhat of a 3D element to it.’

None of the pictures are styled or retouched in any way. It is the purity of the image that Axel enjoys. ‘My photographs are honest and authentic,’ he adds, ‘and I never tell people what they should see in a picture, it is open to their interpretation. In fact people often see things in the pictures that I myself haven’t even noticed!’ Taking this type of photograph is something he cannot force. When he submerges himself in a culture, then the visuals almost jump out as he wanders the streets. ‘Sometimes I find pictures, and sometimes the pictures find me. Sometimes there is something that shouts to be photographed.’ Axel Pfennigschmidt stays in Berlin, Germany, and has been taking photos for the last ten years. When he is not photographing seemingly indifferent detail, he works for an advertising agency. He has just completed a trip across the globe and is currently in negotiations to exhibit his work at galleries in the cities where he has photographed. Axel shoots with a Canon EOS 30D camera.

This page, from left to right: (1) Paris, France; (2) Cape Town, South Africa; (3 - 6) Berlin, Germany; (7) New York, USA; (8) Marrakech, Morocco; (9) Buenos Aires, Argentina; (10) Paris, France. Left page: Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Buenos Aires, Argentina ÂŚ Photographer Axel Pfennigschmidt

New York, USA ÂŚ Photographer Axel Pfennigschmidt

international one way ticket to zurich thinking out of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;swiss boxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; artists in residence designers who do fonts

with the support of

Think of Switzerland and you think of quality chocolate, cowbells, precision watches and jagged Alps burdened under a fresh fall of snow. But did you know that Switzerland is also a hotbed of contemporary architecture? JD van Zyl explains why the latter is reason enough to visit Zurich. For a small country, landlocked between Germany, France, Italy and Austria, Switzerland offers the visitor more architecture worth noting than you would’ve expected. In a country that is situated on a massive intersection of borders and with four official languages Switzerland has been constantly fed with new stimulus from all sides – quite literally.

the hills are alive

A number of famous architects hail from the tiny Alpine country – Le Corbusier, Mario Botta, Peter Zumthor and the partnership of Herzon and de Meuron are the obvious ones that come to mind. Others have come from outside the border to leave their stamp in Switzerland – most notably famed Spanish architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava who moved from Valencia to Zurich in 1975 to study at the Swiss ETH (Federal Institute of Technology). Zurich has always played a pivotal role in the country’s architecture movement, especially because of the ETH. It is at this university that most of Switzerland’s leading contemporary architects, and numerous international ones, graduated. Swiss architecture is inspirational to everyone who appreciates beauty, because it’s not just about designing new buildings. Of course the building needs to fulfil the function for which it was built in the first place. But Switzerland’s architecture is made up of art and function in equal measures. In other words – the buildings can also be appreciated for what they are, and not just what they do. One of the current trends in the country is to emphasize simplicity and the ‘wesentliche’, or that which is important. A great deal of Swiss architecture consists of a pared-down style of extremely simple rectangular shapes. Although this style is often referred to – in a sneering tone of course – as the ‘Swiss box’, the style can also be a more sophisticated form of architecture than it initially appears to be. This simplicity is enhanced with an almost feverish attention to detail and top-notch craftsmanship.

This page and top right: Stadelhoven Station, Santiago Calatrava. Photos: Barbara Burg + Oliver Schuh, www.palladium.de Bottom: Zurich Law Faculty’s library, Santiago Calatrava. Photos: Heinrich Helfenstein, www.heinrich-helfenstein.ch

The anthropomorphic shape of Calatrava’s creations is a far cry from the austerity of traditional Swiss architecture. Stadelhoven station – a nodal point in the Zurich transport grid – consists of sculptured concrete caves and an open platform that is covered with laminated glass and a cable trellis that preserve a feeling of space. The final product forms a striking combination between the historic and contemporary and is a perfect example of Calatrava’s structural ingenuity and functionalism.

Calatrava was also responsible for modernizing and enlarging the Zurich Law Faculty’s library. Instead of filling the existing courtyard with floor space – like one would expect – he created a series of seven oval reading galleries, which leaves the basement free and allows natural light to penetrate deeper into the structure. The shape of the building provides students with privacy for reading and studying.

Another Zurich architectural creation which deserves attention for its functionality is the Centre Le Corbusier, also known as the Heidi Weber Pavilion. Le Corbusier, was one of the most influential architects and designers of the 20th century. The structure of the Pavillion consists of two cubes with sides of enamelled panels and glass, and a detached grey, steel, parasol roof.

The modular construction of the cubes allows greater versatility in the functionality of the building – from the house it used to be, to the gallery that it now is.

This page: Quartierzentrum, EM2N. Photos: © Hannes Henz, Architekturfotograf. Right: Zurich Airport, Grimshaw Architects. Photos: Edmund Sumner.

Younger agencies often opt for the more feminine curves of organic architecture. Right in the heart of the city lies the Bäckeranlage park with the recently constructed Quartierzentrum, designed by the team from EM2N. With its kidney shape the centre steers well clear from the ‘Swiss box’ design, and its curving organic lines blend into its natural environment. Before the centre was built, the park was riddled with prostitution, drugs and crime.

Now it is a pillar of the community with regular performances and an infrastructure for civic activity. Its ground floor includes a restaurant with retractable glass doors that draw the surrounding nature inside, while the olive interior walls and British racing green exterior harmonizes with the surrounding nature. The design was done around the root structures of existing trees so that no trees were damaged or felled during construction.

Travellers that fly into Zurich will have at least one reason to linger longer at the airport building. The new building was designed by British based Grimshaw Architects and uses the existing two terminals instead of replacing them. The overall architectural team comprised of Grimshaw, Ove Arup and Partners International Ltd; Itten and Brechb端hl AG and Ernest Basler +

Partner AG. One of the goals was to create a pleasant feeling of calm for passengers who have to spend increasing amounts of time at the airport because of stricter travel security requirements. This was, among other clever ways, achieved by creating large windows that look over the forest and mountains in the distance.

Above: Zurich Airport, Itten+Brechbühl Inc. Photo: © Ralph Bensberg.

Switzerland may have numerous currents of style that flow through it, but it is obvious that this tiny country is committed to a sense of independence – in true Swiss style – that is expressed through their architecture. Zurich’s architectural wealth can rival that of Barcelona, Vienna and Basel and should be a definite stop on any architectural itinerary.

cultural exchan The Swiss Arts Council has been running an artist¹s residency program between Switzerland and Southern Africa for several years now. Ralph Borland reports on their most recent exchange.

Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council, opened offices in Cape Town in 1998. Their mandates are to encourage cultural exchange between Switzerland and Southern Africa, and to facilitate exchanges between Southern African countries. The centerpiece of their work is their Artist in Residence program, which funds residencies for Southern African artists, writers, musicians, dancers, choreographers and filmmakers in neighbouring countries and in Switzerland, and brings their Swiss counterparts here. One of the most permanent and large-scale works produced under the program must be L/B’s Lounge at 222 Long Street, Cape Town. The Swiss art duo Lang and Baumann designed and oversaw the construction of the lounge in what had been their studio space, in 2003. Their work is often to create functional spaces with a 1970s-futurism, leisure-society feel, using graphic curves and sensually carpeted and padded surfaces – like their mobile hotel room ‘Hotel Everland’, which moves from the roof of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Leipzig to the Palais de Tokyo in Paris in 2007.

The most recent Swiss artist-in-residence in Cape Town produced work as ephemeral as Lang and Baumann’s is persistent. Peter Regli’s exhibition ‘Dust to Dust’ at blank projects reproduced in clay (afterwards crushed to dust and scattered) some of the famous watercolours and drawings produced by the Bushmen informants of Bleek and Lloyd, the source looked to by Stephen Watson, Antjie Krog and Pippa Skotnes before him. Looking down from the height of his aeroplane flight from Jozi to Cape Town, Peter’s interest in the earliest inhabitants of the land was piqued, and after reading up on Bushman (or San) history – and more than a few conversations with the usual suspects at Lola’s Café – he made a journey into the upper Karoo to visit the area from which Bleek and Lloyd’s informants came. Peter’s work, which he refers to as ‘Reality Hacking’ (his work in Cape Town being ‘Reality Hack No.235’), frequently uses elemental substances like clay, dust, rock, metal, ice, wax and wood. It also sometimes works to remind us of the past, as in Reality Hacking No.230, in which he dropped 220kg of melted tin to the floor of a shopping mall that had been converted from a metal foundry. Something similar in Cape Town could have been amusing – say a bucket of tar poured into the V&A Waterfront. There’s something a little unsettling in the funereal symbolism of his project ‘Dust to Dust’; as if the Bushmen were dead and gone from this land, when in fact they remain, struggling, but here. Title: ‘L/B lounge’ by Lang and Baumann, photograph by Mike Hall. Above: ‘Dust to Dust’, Blank Projects, Cape Town; and ‘Reality Hack No.235’, 2006. © p.regli 2006 Right: ‘Reality Hacking Nr. 230’, Zurich, Switzerland, 2005. © p.regli 2006

While Peter Regli was exploring South Africa, Nicola Grobler and David Southwood were in residence in Basel, Switzerland. Nicola’s large-scale installation ‘The Enigma Machine’ fascinated visitors to the Brett Kebble Art Awards in 2004, with its animated mixers and hairdryers, washing-lines and dishcloths. In residence, she worked towards her next exhibition in Cape Town, ‘4 auto-stroke’ (at Erdmann Contemporary in September) while she produced an installation in Basel that was ‘a reaction to [her] sense of being a foreigner and not being able to communicate freely’. In common with some of the previous South African artists on the residency program, Nicola often found the local Swiss-German language a problem because, while many people speak English in Basel, ‘they don’t necessarily work in the post-office or the local hardware shop’.

Ich komme nicht von hier, an installation on the river Rhine, Basel, Switzerland, 2006. Photograph by Nicola Grobler.

But she did experience a greater freedom of movement in Basel, using public transport, cycling at night and exploring the city by herself, looking for venues for her work – while the downside for Peter in Cape Town was specifically not being able to walk the streets at night. Nicola also noticed the wealth of funding available to artists in Switzerland, compared with most South African artists’ struggle to survive – but noted too that this gives our art a ‘kick’ that was lacking in much of the work there. Most of the Swiss art she saw was apolitical, with artists free to work on more abstract ideas, often with ‘an economy of style and focus on craftsmanship’. Seeing artists’ work first-hand was one of the most exciting aspects of her residency, and she was impressed by the work of Swiss artist Adolf Wölfli, and Shirana Shahbazi, a young Swiss photographer.

Pro Helvetia is expanding its regional Artist in Residence program to include Mozambique, Angola and Zambia; last year was the pilot project for intra-region residencies, and this year their funding has been increased. They are particularly excited about their new residency partner in Jozi, the Drill Hall, who are also taking part in a large intercultural exchange program encompassing Swiss, Congolese, French and South African artists. With the scarcity of arts funding in South Africa, professional artists should take full advantage of the residencies offered by Pro Helvetia – visit their website for application forms and more information, and perhaps you’ll end up contributing yourself to their diverse programs for cultural exchange. www.prohelvetia.ch/capetown www.langbaumann.com | www.realityhacking.com | www.paperflight.com

graphic designers who do fonts By Jenna Mervis

When was the last time you really looked at the alphabet? Although we use it everyday – writing, reading, even eating (alphabet soup, get it?) – it’s something most of us take for granted; an institution we rarely question unless it’s to check the i-before-e-except-after-c rule. Which is why Swiss design company Norm is not that normal. In 2002, designers Dimitri Bruni and Manuel Krebs methodically examined, classified, tested and distilled the Latin alphabet into an essence of dots and intersecting lines. Entitled The Things, the resulting publication was a masterpiece of analytical research into forms. They even designed a typeface – called Simple – to discuss . Bruni and Krebs studied design together in Biel. After going their separate ways to gain practical experience, they reconnected in Zurich and founded Norm. That was in 1999. ‘We started Norm because of a personal project we wanted to do,’ explains Bruni. ‘We called it Introduction. It was a statement, a reflection. We wanted to talk about 2D and 3D forms.’ Three years later they produced The Things, based on the same theme but more intense and focused on the two-dimensional.

In 2003, French designer Ruedi Baur approached Norm to redesign Simple for use in the Cologne airport. ‘There is a lot of typography in an airport and it is important to have a typeface that you can recognise,’ says Bruni. ‘When we redesigned the typeface, we simplified some of the forms to make it more legible without losing its character.’ This strong awareness towards the importance of context and meaning characterises Norm’s work. From the simple graphic brochures created for various departments of ECAL college to the posters designed for an exhibition on Swiss design, each message is individually constructed and given a relevant visual form. Uncovering the hidden humour of The Things, the posters use a series of image juxtapositions and brand them ‘too nice for words’ in the purpose-built typeface: State This. Bruni resists any associations with traditional typography. ‘We are not typographers,’ he says. ‘We are graphic designers who do fonts. Typographers are just making fonts to get others to use them. The graphic designer uses and constructs fonts based on need.’ Nevertheless, the future for Norm is decidedly typographic. Current projects include N10 – a typeface which will be used for the sequel to The Things – and also the corporate typeface for Omega, based on its existing logotype. Bruni is visibly excited about Norm’s progression into corporate fonts. ‘We had many occasions to expand the office but we have resisted it because we prefer to do the work ourselves. Now that we have entered into corporate typeface construction, we are really happy, but also really busy. So in August, we are getting our first employee.’ I’ll bet my Latin alphabet that he’s not a typographer, but one of those graphic designers who do fonts.

Left and Top: Details from the Simple font, which was redesigned for use in the Cologne airport. Middle: Poster for ECAL, Lausanne University of Art, 2004. Images courtesy of Dimitri Bruni and Manuel Krebs, Norm.

graphics 13, lucky for some hidden genius: nikhil singh

through the looking glass Room 13 is the space that is often superstitiously overlooked by people in the hospitality sector. In this case, it is the unlikely place where two sisters not only get along, but where they’ve succeeded in creating a design studio that produces beautiful work. Room 13, in siblings Michelle and Nina’s own words, ‘is a special place in the mind where dreams, thoughts and fantasies blur’.

‘...with a host of impressive clients and a portfolio of work that carries their signature dream-like style, it feels like Room 13 has well and truly arrived.’ I first met the formidable women of Room 13 six months ago when we did a job together. Back then they were based in the Welgelegen Guest House in Gardens - on the verge of moving to their snazzy new Victoria Junction offices in Greenpoint. Welgelegen wasn’t just an office space for them; it was the house where they grew up, the start of their new business and the place from where they took their company name. From their humble beginnings in Welgelegen’s linen cupboard, to the thirteenth room in the Cape Town guesthouse, the Van Reenen sisters have come a long way. Now, two years on, with a host of impressive clients and a portfolio of work that carries their signature dream-like style, it feels like Room 13 has well and truly arrived.

In their self-decorated, stylish offices, the sisters sit me down to give me the lay of the land. ‘We’ve been fortunate, most of our work have come to us via word-of-mouth’, says Nina. Fortunate yes, but also testament to the quality of work they put out. To date their clients have included high-end brands like the erotic boutique Kink, the high-end jewellery cum coffee shop Cafe Maxim, the Spier Arts Season and a series of work for fashion designer Gavin Rajah. The most recent of which included Rajah’s HIV Positive project featuring Seal and a host of other local entertainers. Although they can be extremely versatile and do a lot of corporate work, their design touch has a sophisticated European feel about it. From intricate Flock wallpaper-like imagery to exotic birds and cuckoo clocks - it feels like you’ve stumbled into a Hans Christian Andersen tale.

Left: Kink, corporate ID and website design. decorated offices.

Right: Room 13’s stylishly, self-

Although the studio, both in its approach and in the work it produces, undoubtedly has a strong feminine touch, two guys were recently added to the team. ‘When we saw Pieter and Fred’s portfolios we knew instantly that it carried the Room 13 style’, says Nina. A good example of this is the corporate identity update one of the boys did for production company Groundglass. ‘The fact that we’re women definitely has an influence on the work that leaves the door, but we also feel that it has worked well for us in our approach to business. The design industry is becoming increasingly competitive, and whether you’re male or female, it’s safe to say you have to have the proverbial balls to survive,’ concludes Michelle.

Left: Gavin Rajah’s HIV Positive project, marketing material and corporate identity. Right: Spier Arts Season 2006, poster.

Room 13 is doing more than just survive. They are constantly conjuring up magical work in their own enchanted style. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s already talk of branching out into interior design, producing their own wallpaper, textile design endeavours and working more closely with fashion brands. In the mind frame of these two sisters, anything is possible.

www.room13.co.za

kiff

ness

Some people can draw inspiration from lamps, others just wish they could. Roxanne Silverwood is the former. Leigh van den Berg… you figure it out. All the Scorpio’s I know are either crazy or lost, but this Scorpion has got her ducks in a row. 22 year old Roxanne Silverwood; senior broadcast designer and 2D animator at Red Pepper Pictures in Johannesburg is a graduate of the Vega School of Brand communication and is responsible for the fabulously kitsch animated intros for television shows like eTV’s youth magazine programs, Frenzy and Sistahood, as well as the promos for Channel GO’s My So Called Life and Street Hypnosis. She also created a stylish-looking title sequence for a documentary called Family Tree, about people who adopt HIV orphans. Her private work, exhibited late last year, features arabesques of purple and pink, lipstick, high heels and gorgeous gals from all eras and ethnicity. More Crackers, inspired by the lyrics of a Le Tigre song, easily identified by the exquisitely colourful parrot emerging from the jungle. This alongside a piece called Aurora and the Crowes, are a personal favourite of mine.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;When it comes to drawing inspiration, Roxanne tells me she can pull an idea out of almost anything.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

‘A lot of people describe my stuff as being quite feminine, but I just like flowers, pretty colours, things like that,’ she says, but goes on to admit she does find the industry rather ‘male dominated’. So, do you think this feminine quality has helped set you apart from the rest, I venture? ‘Oh, I don’t think I’m doing amazingly well or anything’, she says, a verbal shrug. ‘I’m just working hard to get my name out there and lucky that the ‘girlie thing’ is pretty in right now, what with all the home stores going for this feminine look, floral patterns, damask and all that. That’s the stuff I like and it influences me I guess.’ Roxanne draws inspiration and ideas from her environment. ‘I can be out drinking with friends in a bar and get struck by something as silly as a beautiful lamp. Or fashion, like what’s coming in from overseas and websites on the net. Even just driving to work and watching the season’s change, the leaves falling, different light …’ she enthuses. ‘Design is all around you really, if you specifically look for it.’

In the future, Roxanne would like to go overseas to get some international experience before coming home to start her own company. ‘I’m a very lucky girl’, she says. ‘I look at all my friends who studied accountancy and sure, they’ll make a lot more money than me one day, but I’ll still be doing what I love, it’s my everything.’

www.kiff.za.net

Illustration by Nikhil Singh

Nikhil Singh is based, however unlikely, on Earth – Cape Town to be exact. A man of diverse skill and competencies - sketching, writing, composing music – yet he does not pacify himself by believing in talent. But rather, believing in the energy and time devoted to your artistry and only thereafter, becoming good. Nikhil is clearly devoted. He extracts inspiration from all the twists of life; his artwork is infused with obscure daily observations that most of us would simply oversee. However, his art is not a social statement so much as a commentary. Having been kicked out of primary school for reading comics to fellow students, rather than submitting in obedience to the teacher’s choice of reading material he now relays stories of his own through his work. ___ We thought it best to give Nikhil full creative freedom to do his thing which produced in consequence the following three pages. The interview is delivered through a conversation between him and Leonie von Hase which unfolds in a visual narrative, as the result of the creative collaboration between the two, created especially for one small seed. It serves to inch closer to answering the question - ‘Who is Nikhil Singh? www.nikhilsingh.com

Illustration by Nikhil Singh ÂŚ Words by Leonie von Hase

fashion the designer behind â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;fabricâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; turning craft upside down a new home for coppelia

I’m led up the garden path, literally, by Meg Summs, the designer behind the sprouting clothing label Fabric. Within the first few minutes of entering her home it is perfectly clear that Chinese and Japanese cultures in particular, are a profound source of inspiration and motivation to her. Antique silk garments adorn the walls along with a-not-so-antique David West number from back in the day. Even her dogs are Eastern, a Pekingese and a Pug which was ‘used to warm Buddhist monks’ feet’ she tells me in her watered down Virginia accent. They moved to South Africa when she was eleven years old. ‘When I first started out I was making things that were too much like apiece-on-the-wall and not wearable enough. It was either too costumy or not easy to reproduce and not practical in terms of washing. But now I believe I’ve got the balance better by making clothes inspired by the rich and luxurious fabrics of the east but that are also durable, wearable and practical.’ Meg always uses the finest quality material she can lay her hands on. That in itself is an ‘art of note’, she says. ‘My main thing is, I love fabrics and it inspires me. I’ve always been fascinated by the East, I have always been into silks and natural fibres and I can see it being part of my design process indefinitely. It seemed only natural to call my label Fabric.’ When it comes to pattern making she is quick to add that this is not her most favourite part of the job. ‘I don’t think I’m the most original designer out there, I don’t sit here creating garments from nothing. I’ll take old clothing that I like and then find materials that serve the design and mix it together while making changes to the pattern. I try to make practical garments that maybe still do have a slightly costumy context but that are much more accessible. My clothes are definitely about movement and function.’ Instead of expanding exponentially she’s much more concerned about keeping the quality and standard of the production process under her eagle eye. With Meg’s attention to detail and her religious adherence to quality she is bound to, in time, convert a great loyal following. The Pug and Pekingese lie down at her feet… Available at Hand (Cape Town), MeMeMe (Cape Town) and Misfit (Cape Town)

Richard de Jager Back to the Future with Richard de Jager, the designer behind the erratic clothing label,

Pwhoa.

Having a conversation about fashion with Richard de Jager is like going on a trip from which you return with your glasses half way down your nose and your hat sliding way beyond the cool angle off your head. Pwhoa! ‘I like the idea of turning craft a bit upside down and creating a futuristic, sci-fi vibe. My friends say that the look is very 80’s, but that’s not what I want to achieve,’ he snorts. ‘I want to inspire a return to the arts and craft culture, that whole Andy Warhol vibe, making stuff which is quite new and interesting.’ It all seems locked up inside of him and only when time and schedule allow do we get to see the creations of his compressed subconscious ideas. ‘It’s a nice way of expressing myself, an outlet. It’s not meant to be big or massive or take over the world. It’s a small idea to keep things moving forward.’ The collection featured here is from the project Love Thy Neighbourhood’s first instalment and the show was called Would you please run over me? Which made the connection between ‘violence and blondes.’ ‘Words like warrior, strength and power lead me to play around with silhouettes, elongating the figures with long hats, which Bridget Anne Baker made, and contrasting them with chunky oversized knits and shapes around the body. I believe one can never have too many influences and these colours are quite muted for someone like me. I’m usually very neon-everything.’ ‘The construction of these garments is a labour intensive project,’ he says, ‘it’s not how we make clothes any more, it wouldn’t really work in today’s manufacturing environment, which churns out huge quantities of a single garment. Only a handful of people can help me and in the end I have to supervise the production of each piece very closely.’

If you thought for one minute that these shapes are moulded with you, the customer, in mind – you are so wrong. The process is self-indulgent from start to finish, but this is going to change in future he tells me, with arrangements to start stocking a few stores again. It will still be crafty knitwear with the emphasis on knit but he’ll educate us and show us the wearability of it by styling it with something we’re not afraid of, like jeans. The jeans shown here are from Nicola Thackwell. Having ‘depleted the selection of the local yarn shop which has been stocking the same yarns for the last 20 years, things start to get a bit tricky’ he laughs. But it is exactly then, I believe, that Richard is at his best.

Available at Scar (Cape Town), Richard de Jager 072 407 7078

When I asked Kirsty Bannerman about the origin of her clothing label’s name, Coppelia, started six years ago, she told me the story by E.T.A Hoffman entitled ‘Der Sandmann’ (the Sandman) which was adapted for ballet in 1870. In short; on the eve of Swanilda and Franz’s wedding she has cause to doubt his affections when she finds him admiring a beautiful girl on the balcony of Dr. Coppelius, the toymaker’s house. Dr Coppelius cares for Coppelia, a life size doll made of wood, by changing her clothes everyday, creating the illusion that she is alive. Her beauty enamours the heart of many a man. Enthralled by this story, Kirsty Bannerman started to design doll-like dresses and feminine basics for young woman. She is delightfully nonchalant about what she does. ‘The overall style of Coppelia is definitely a set thing I do. It hasn’t changed much over the years. I’ll tweak the design a little bit to incorporate the trend, but that’s it. It’s always been very feminine but with a certain quirkiness that appeals to a confident and creative woman.’ Kirsty has ventured more and more into printing her own fabrics to provide assured exclusivity to her customers. ‘It just seems to be the natural next step.’ Her unique way of selecting colours and fabrics and the sometimes ‘unlikely combination of fabrics just work with the design,’ she says. ‘When I design clothes I am lead by the quality of the fabric and the need to produce and I quite enjoy the challenge of creating more commercial things. It’s much easier to just do whatever you want to, but to design things that will sell, is quite a different story. I’m not trying to make any statements or lead propaganda with the clothes I design. It’s about beauty, practicality and wearability and what the fabric will allow me to do.’ As her involvement with running the MeMeMe store, has come to an end, Kirsty assures me that the time has come for her to take Coppelia from Dr Coppelius’ balcony and give her a home of her own. The long awaited Coppelia store will open towards the end of this year in Cape Town.

Available at MeMeMe (Cape Town), The Space (Cape Town & Johannesburg)

Available at Byblos, Shop LO2, Michelangelo Towers Mall,Sandton, Tel. +27 11 884 4056

architecture architecture of intervention a look at studioMASâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creation marcel botha explores urban mobility

LR PLASTICS

Adaptive re-use breathes new life to an Industrial Landmark

By Iain Low ¦ Photographs by Sean Lorens

Since the advent of democratic rule in South Africa, the prospect for architecture has seen new possibilities. These have broadened the ‘bandwidth’ and created space for the imagination. Despite the pressures of economic utilitarianism and materialism that globalization has brought with it, smaller works, interiors refurbishments and rehabilitation projects have gained currency in the architectural community.

During 2004, soundspacedesign were commissioned to relocate the LR PLASTICS flexible packaging company from Prospecton into the old Novilon building that has been owned and occupied by Marley Plastics since its inception in the early1950’s. Located on the Old South Coast Road, this building is a noteworthy landmark. Originally designed by Geoffrey Le Seur, it is an exemplar of the modern period ‘Mobeni-Style’ face-brick factories that populated the Southern Industrial Basin of Durban. Comprising drab brown face brick and heavy pre-cast copings, it is still the only industrial building featured in Mini-town, Durban’s Beachfront miniature cityscape attraction featuring prominent landmarks around Durban. Projects of this nature bring their own peculiar demands. The client’s requirement for something altogether more contemporary and representative of their hi-tech flexible packaging brand demanded a departure from the original landmark building, both aesthetically and functionally. Consequently, the addition of 3000m2 of design, sales and administrative offices required increased the existing building by 35%. This afforded an opportunity for architectural re-branding in the form of both a re-imagined ‘landmark’, as well as a reconfigured floor plan, the resultant urban form and the crafting of a new interior environment suitable for the everyday use of workers and management.

The brief called for the creation of four distinct departments; Extrusion, Printing, Bagging and Dispatch, with rigid security requirements between each to prevent in-house theft of sophisticated and expensive mechanical components. soundspacedesignâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary design response was to use movement and the dynamics of the program to establish an architecture of intervention. By introducing an elevated circulation system in order to move staff and workers into their respective departments, this intervention responds equally to the curve of the existing South Coast Road as to the interior arrangements.

An airport terminal’s ‘departure’ circulation system was adapted to create necessary hierarchy and provide for the prerequisite security points, but in as humane and sensitive a manner as possible. Each department has a clear identity, with its own ‘home’ with kitchen, ablutions and lounge, and administrative offices straddling the curved circulation ‘corridor / street’ overhead. This simply cuts through the original staggered plan, and is re-faced with custom designed bird proof concrete blocks to enable natural cross ventilation and filter the northern light. In complimenting the existing building, a clean-lined modernist approached has been adopted for the design intervention. Uncluttered elevations, true to the materials used and the existing structure, are made up of ruled brickwork, custommade breezeblocks, horizontal widespan sheeting used as a cladding material and aluminium ventilation louvers. Large areas of glazing on the north and east sides allow for a visual permeability in an attempt to integrate the environment with the building. Similarly, the site edges have been softened with landscaping similar to that already established immediately adjacent to and outside of the property. In this manner the conventional boundary is contested and public space made to seem to be an extension of the site.

The interior of the building is completely and carefully redesigned. By evolving an appropriate language of detailing, an engaging interior has been established. The careful combination of materials and finishes simultaneously compliments and sets off from the old building, complimenting the spatial tension between old and new. The resulting interiors create liveable spaces that are surprisingly comfortable and interesting for people whose lives are of necessity place bound. Yet again, consistent with their progressive industrial ethos, soundspacedesign have achieved a building of significance. By insisting on creating many collective spaces for admin staff, clients, sales staff and workers to mingle and interact during the course of the day, this design affords a genuine humane dimension to the factory setting. The diner and balcony, circulation spaces and lounges are generous and anticipate a vibrant socialisation in the workplace and enablement of the conversion of LR PLASTICS from a conservative manufacturing concern into a 21st Century New South African success story. Designed in 2005, this 12,000m2 rehabilitation was completed in March 2006. www.soundspacedesign.com

infill house studioMAS architects + urban designers

Cape Town, nestled up mountains and edge of seas, offers a diverse range of sites for living where the beauty of nature provides a magnificent foreground and/or backdrop to settled space. Infill House by studioMAS architects + urban designers is situated high on the slopes of Signal Hill above Bantry Bay on a site with breathtaking views up the mountain and across the Atlantic Ocean. The area is a hive of building activities - many houses in the area have recently been rebuilt, are being rebuilt or newly built; few remain unaltered. Recent and new built work in the area generally follows the currently popular architectural style where formal clarity is expressed in light steel framed glass boxes with multiple adjustable layers of enclosure in glass and timber louvers.

By Alta Steenkamp ÂŚ Photography by Mario Todeschini

Infill House follows the same principle of layered infill into a visually prominent structural framework by way of an authentic form of expression. The clients requested a comfortable, functional house for easy-living with a clean, simple and natural exterior that, while timeless, were also daring and unusual. The house had to be in harmony with the land, well connected to the garden and its magnificent setting.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The house had to be in harmony with the land... with a clean, simple and natural exterior that, while timeless, was also daring and unusual.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

The design has as its starting point two long boxes arranged around a central courtyard connected by a circulation block within a modular exposed concrete framework. On entering the house, the sea view is revealed from an extensive entrance hall yet to be inhabited by the Willem Boshoff sculpture planned for it. From this level a top-lit stairway descends to the two lower levels and this vertical core becomes progressively more light and transparent as solid walls give way to a beautifully crafted bulky oak balustrade that also serves as a screen. Throughout, the design offers opportunity to allow sunlight and fresh air to be easily adjusted and controlled without mechanical methods by way of sliding doors and timber screens. The relationship with nature is enforced by a selection of strip windows that frame different views, the courtyard with a few White Stinkwoods that give testament to the seasons and the future prospect for the house to, in places, be covered by planting. Rather than working with the freedom of internal arrangement and enclosure that a fixed structural skeleton offers, the architects have elected to deal with enclosure within the concrete frame in a pragmatic and direct manner to give the design a strong geometric language. The infill of the concrete frame follows a simple functional principle: red brick into side-walls facing the neighbours, partial red brick infill on the view-side to allow steel-framed doors to slide into a wall cavity, full glazing onto the courtyard and high horizontal openings on the street side to allow views of the mountain side.

The potential monotony of the frame is relieved by selective additive forms and subtractive spaces such as the concrete box and covered patio. A range of fixed and adjustable timber screens in balau complete the palette of materials used and supports the houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s robust and earthy character. While the house offers a realm of pragmatism where the diversity of modern life can be enacted and reflected, the architecture is both reticent and powerful in its tectonic and material exploration. www.studiomas.co.za

re-thinking the bus By Claire Abrahamse ÂŚ Images courtesy of Marcel Botha

When considering public transport in one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest cities, the sheer dynamics and scale of movement through space inevitably lead to comparisons with the myriad of chaotic and constantly-moving, microscopic creatures that occupy the lessvisible realms of our planet.

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The work of Marcel Botha, a South African Architect, involved in a MIT Design Laboratory (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) research project aimed at ‘Rethinking the Paris Bus’ for its centennial celebration, invites such comparisons, as his creations deal with movement patterns he describes as ‘swarming’ and ‘marching’, and his new busses are presented under the titles of Worm Bus and Snake Bus. Despite this, Botha’s design does not descend into an anonymous, dark dystopia, but aims to enhance aspects of legibility, transparency and communication, increasing the ease of access of the individual to the city.

Botha and his research fellows travelled to Paris for a four-day introduction to the City’s transport system, and particularly Line 38 which runs from Gare du Nord to Porte d’Orleans. The overarching aim of the project was to improve urban mobility through developing new strategies for immediate and long-term implementation, and all concepts had to be inclusive of the bus and the bus stop, with a focus on the information and communication interfaces between the bus system, the commuter and the wider city. One of Botha’s concepts, ‘Escaping the Concierge’ explores achieving this through substituting mobile technologies for the stuffy information kiosk typically found in this context. The new concierge is envisioned as a freestanding, modular unit, each module type providing a different service and thus easily adapting to scale and demand at different points along the route, creating ‘mini villages’ of information which could develop as ‘organically’ as the city itself. This concept of seamless and autonomous integration into the city is carried through to the design of the busses themselves. Worm Bus is designed as an overly-articulated vehicle with each node acting autonomously, allowing for self-configured movement patterns so that traffic could be more easily negotiated.

‘Botha’s designs start to explore a new frontier of urban mobility, where transport systems aren’t merely a means to an end, but become pleasurable and important urban experiences in themselves.’

The Snake Bus is a further development on this idea, and in Botha’s opinion, ‘is one of the more appealing articulated concepts – it acts as a bridge between what we are familiar with and perhaps pure fantasy.’ The bus is designed with large diameter, hubless wheels with electric drive, and the suspension is achieved through the Michelin Pact System, a flexible, airless, deformable tread structure. The bus itself is designed to be transparent, allowing for a more sensual transport experience of increased manuverability and heightened visual interaction with the city. These designs are in stark contrast with the banal, mundane commuter experience we are so often forced to endure and which degrades this potential area of civic interaction into anonymous, insect-like regimentality. Botha’s designs start to explore a new frontier of urban mobility, where transport systems are not merely a means to an end, but become pleasurable and important urban experiences in themselves.

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art courtney forbes in progress street meets gallery unveiling the process

new adventures in art Courtney Forbes, an established contemporary artist, shoots the breeze with Leigh van den Berg

A ‘lover of travel, culture and language’, Courtney Forbes ‘has an eye for all things beautiful.’ He uses words like ‘erotic’, ‘bright’ and ‘irony’ to describe his work, and although it’s maturing with every collection, ‘looking for the beauty’ remains the common theme throughout. His background, however, is just as colourful as his art.

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‘Before he could say como te llamas, he was snapped up to illustrate the horoscopes of Belleza y moda magazine.’ Born in Jamaica, Courtney’s family immigrated to Toronto, Canada when he was eight years old. He attended the Ryerson Polytechnical Institute to study Media Arts, but never completed the course upon realizing that the world was a-waiting. Following his gut he bravely packed his bags for Barcelona, which was recommended by a friend. Before he could say como te llamas, he was snapped up to illustrate the horoscopes of Belleza y moda magazine. This marked the ‘official’ start of his artistic career, but it wouldn’t be long before he felt the need for ‘a new country, a new culture, another life.’ Like a grazing cow, albeit a talented one, he visually sucks up his surroundings to regurgitate it later as art. ‘It’s bizarre, but I feel that’s pretty much spot on,’ he says, breaking into a grin. He goes on to tell me that his modus operandi is to embed himself locally, get to understand the people around him and later give back to that community through his art. Title page: Jazz No Jazz no. 3 . International Jazz festival, Zurich . acrylic on cardboard . 300 x 210 cm . 1996 Top Left: The Tree . acrylic on canvas . 200 x 200 cm . 2000, from Forms of indulgence Top Right: Torero . acrylic on canvas . 200 x 200 cm . 1996 Bottom Left: Enlightenment . acrylic on canvas . 120 x 120 cm . 2002 Bottom Right: Collette . 50 x 50 cm . acrylic on canvas . 2003 Overleaf: Madonna . 110 x 140 cm . acrylic on wood panel

. 2006

After leaving Spain for a two-year stint in Jamaica, Courtney moved to Zurich, Switzerland, where he did more illustrative work, freelanced for advertising agencies and designed everything from bar stools to shopping bags. He also held many successful exhibitions, but collections of note include Myth & Desire, Forms of Indulgence and Characteresque.

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At present, Courtney’s based in Cape Town, working on his upcoming exhibition. When I ask him why he picked South Africa, he likens us to Spain and says ‘that it’s another developing country, not as structured as Zurich.’ He’s also attracted to our cultural diversity and hodgepodge of races and faces, something that’s inspired the series he’s currently working on. It’s much more photo-realistic than his previous work. ‘This exhibit will be my Cape Town debut. I’m on a mission to do something of notoriety here, dealing with the place itself, and that takes time’. A sneak peak at the unfinished portrait of a moody, pouting temptress with Smurfy blue hair, while her hands bear the mark of stigmata, creating a look that’s Catholic Madonna meets catwalk kitten, assures me, it’ll be worth the wait.

www.courtneyforbes.com

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warren lewis

a brave new world By Dylan Culhane ¦ Photography by Dylan Culhane and Warren Lewis

His unique design style and guerrilla marketing campaigns for Circus Ninja made them a household name and spawned legions of hoodied devotees. As co-founder and curator of downtown anti-art gallery, The Bin, he’s held at least twelve shows featuring up to a hundred artists at a time. Somewhere in the gap between street art and fine art, Warren Lewis helped define an incisive new-media movement. Now he’s moving away from the various collectives he runs with and is ready to embark on a freelance career. The risk of working from easel to mouth isn’t lost on the twenty-four year old Red and Yellow graduate, but he’s determined to create work on his own terms. ‘Design work is far safer,’ he tells me. ‘I’ll always enjoy doing it, but painting is the purest form of what I can do. I would ideally like to be in a place where I can paint for a living and brands approach me because of my particular style, rather than compromising my style to fit a brief.’

114 Senyol vs Lewis exhibition, photographs by Warren Lewis

Lewis’ ideal situation seems inevitable in light of his talents and the widespread appeal his work has. Introspective and populist at once, his art draws heavily on the contemporary modes of street art and graphic design. Though he paints in public ‘grey areas’, working with brushes as opposed to spray cans disconnects his rationale from that of a petty vandal in most people’s minds. Aside from his painterly technique there is a command of colour and composition in the final execution that even the most cantankerous council official would be hard pressed to deny. The inclusion of scrawled text and popular iconography amidst the dizzying abstraction seems to allude to some socially specific meaning, but for Lewis they are merely provocations that transcend one’s level of visual literacy. ‘What drives me the most is appealing to those who wouldn’t usually stop and consider public art. Most of the people I interface with on the street are positive and seem open to what I’m doing. The only real question that comes up is whether or not we have permission, which raises the whole debate on space and ownership.’

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‘Somewhere in the gap between street art and fine art, Warren Lewis helped define an incisive new-media movement.’

Whereas walls and lamp posts are usually regarded as the street artist’s sole medium, Lewis’ work explores more lateral dimensions. In his series of ‘chuck-ups’, painted blocks of wood linked with string are flung over telephone and electrical wires, leaving the artwork to dangle overhead. Transitory, unobtrusive and hanging around in no-man’s land, chuck-ups have exploded the public art debate: it’s far more interesting discussing ownership of airspace than beleaguering arguments about private property and freedom of expression. Plus we all get to exercise our necks once in a while. Most importantly for Lewis is a sense of interaction and discovery that his conceptual work invites. All too often the acts of artistic expression we encounter in the public domain are either visually offensive or simply disregarded as part of the urban texture. Neither can be said of Warren Lewis’s various creative projects, whether they be on subway walls or stretched canvas. Looking at his paintings one has the sense of having stepped into a game without realizing it. Like playing Marco Polo in oil paint. www.warrenlewispaintings.blogspot.com www.wetpaintlewis.blogspot.com

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While comfortable with all the theory of a wellread artist, and the practice of a starving one, Zander Blom is not someone to be caught up in ‘concept as elitism’. Since dropping out of his Information Design degree after two years, which was always secondary to his art, Zander has amassed a fearsome collection of art work and reference material; his reading and immersion in his art has led him to a sometimes cynical, often playful view of art and the art world. Therein lies the Klein reference…

By Liam Lynch ¦ Photography by Liam Lynch

zander blom

please remain on the premises!

Zander sees Klein as ‘the perfect alibi for ironically re-framing and re-mystifying The Studio’. Indeed, Klein saw his own work and performances as a means to ‘tear down the temple veil of the studio… to keep nothing of my process hidden.’ Enter Marcus Neustetter and Stephen Hobbes, directors of The Premises gallery, Johannesburg who hosted Part I of Sound & Pictures in July 2006 which featured the process, Zander’s first solo exhibition.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;...I have embarked upon a personal language which manifests as a kind of perverse, dandified, idealized, ironic and banal form of selfexpression...â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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Part II will culminate in the Sound & Pictures CD and book launch at The Premises, early in 2007. Marcus credits Stephen with the idea of Zander effectively inhabiting the space, after a visit the two made to the artist’s insanely cluttered Brixton home and studio: ‘We walked into the place, saw the work and thought ‘Wow. This would look good in the gallery. Full stop.’ ‘ What followed was a month long ‘residency’, with Zander’s work taped to the walls, strewn across the floor and the artist himself often to be found in the corner on a beaten sofa, he’d moved into the space. The exhibition, all ink stains, scattered coffee cups and ashtrays, was the artist at work which concluded in an ‘opening’ night. Marcus sees this as the realization of seeing the potential of Zander’s work in a larger space ‘exposing not only the work of Zander Blom, but also his process’.

As an introduction, Zander says, ‘In my failed attempt to throw any form of conceptual or theoretical motive out the window, I have embarked upon a personal language which manifests as a kind of perverse, dandified, idealized, ironic and banal form of self-expression that accidentally yet instinctively draws from (and comments on) various modernist ideas, ideals and practices.’ A manifesto of sorts, it goes so far as to explain his intentions, but as is often the case with Zander, there is another side to the frequently flipped coin. As capable as he is of saying it all with a straight face, were you to hear it from him in person, you’d be certain he was smiling on the inside. Zander’s commentary on the work and his reasons for it, are as self-deprecating as its roots. Starkly original while still layered with reference, it is for him a means to an end; in this instance, be it through theory or practice, he describes himself as simply wanting to ‘take part in the conversation that Klein started’. This said, with a smile, of course.

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frame sequence â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the tale of howâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; they did it conversation with an independent film-maker ontwerp: imagination factory

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The Blackheart Gang is a loose confederation of Capetonian creatives. Their short film, The Tale of How has been winning them acclaim for its bizzaro beauty. Zane Henry speaks to Jannes Hendrikz and Markus Wormstorm, two of the three masterminds behind the madness.

Illustration by Ree Treweek ÂŚ Layout by Romi Martin

There comes a time when everyone is required to do work that is less than inspiring. Corporate whoring is an often necessary element in the furtherance of your career. Hey, you have to pay your bills somehow right? But every once in a while you have to rebel; stick it to the man and just do something balls-to-thewall out there with little or no regard for financial gain. Enter the Blackheart Gang. Jannes Hendrikz, Ree Treweek and Markus Wormstorm form the calyx of the creative collective thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s raising opinions and eyebrows in local and international circles. Their short animated film, The Tale of How is an explosion of tripped-out mythology and mind-bending artistry.

Born from a poem that Markus wrote while chilling on a farm, he conspired with Ree in fleshing out the story and developing the complex fantasy world known as The Household. The Tale of How is a ‘History’ that forms part of the meta-narrative. It tells the story of the Piranhas (or Dodo’s to the uninitiated) who are born from the blossoms of a tree growing on a hill. This hill, named Otto, goes insane after his beautiful goat-herder girlfriend dies and is buried inside of him. Otto, suffering from a serious lack of closure, takes his ire out on the poor Piranhas by eating them. Help arrives in the form of Eddy the Engineer, a white mouse with a tail made of flowers, a boat of bananas and a decidedly messianic vibe. Together, they conspire to trick Otto and gain their freedom. The Tale of How has won the Blackheart Gang local and international acclaim and has picked up top honours at film festivals, including 100 Points of Light and The Right Eye Short Film Festival. However, no-one in the group did this for fame and fortune. ‘While we were making this film, none of us ever spoke about awards and things. We are passionate about what we do and love working together. That’s why we were able to dedicate nine months of our lives to it; it never felt like work to us. It’s a labour of love. The entire creative process was organic. That’s not to say that it was easy. I nearly had a nervous breakdown towards the end of it,’ laughs Jannes.

As creative director, his job was to turn Markus and Ree’s story into a shimmering visual artwork. Ree’s drawings were the template on which the team of animators worked and Markus provided the soundtrack. The result is a sublimely subversive blend of 2D and 3D animation that leaves viewers awed. ‘We didn’t make this for any particular audience. This project was about expressing our maximum creativity. You can’t wait for opportunities to present themselves - you have to bust the doors down yourself. We went about our day jobs and dedicated every spare moment towards the gestation of The Tale of How’ puts in Markus. The future is a sheeny-shiny unknown for the Blackheart Gang. The recognition that The Tale of How is generating is bound to secure the support needed to realise their grand designs. They plan on producing the prequels and sequels itinerant on The Tale of How as well as releasing a series of books based on the fantastical realms of The Household. In the meantime, they’ll allow their muse to dictate their work flow. At the end of the day, The Blackheart Gang is less of a corporate entity and more of a shared ideal. It’s a banner under which the dementedly talented denizens of society can unite and express themselves without censorship or attenuation.

www.theblackheartgang.com

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Trailblazing Cape-Town based filmmaker Elan Gamaker is used to people agreeing with him. So you can imagine his surprise when one of his own characters, a beautiful French emigré named Anna, gave him lip about appearing in his upcoming independent film “The Search for a South African Husband”. AR: I’m not so sure. All I see these days is hip-hop. You’re telling me that’s African? EG: Yup. Just as the fedoras of 1950s Sophiatown find their equivalent in US-inspired contemporary youth culture, ‘foreign’ influence has been and continues to be pervasive, ephemeral, selective and evolutionary. Who is to decide what African is? Upon what is their decision based? AR: I don’t know, something ethnic maybe? Maybe we should shoot in Burkina Faso. I hear there are lots of drums and beads and shit there.

AR: Yes, but shouldn’t we be showing what exists? EG: Sure. But it’s an insult to all Africans to assume that’s all there is. As artists we can only work with what we know, not practise self-enforced neo-colonialism by disqualifying ourselves if we don’t meet that agenda. This happens particularly when Black artists who produce truthful work are not praised for their sincerity but, condescendingly, for the ‘Africanness of the work’.

AR: There’s a South African genre? EG: Afraid so. Appears to be something along the lines of ‘a Black man holding a gun’.

EG: One of the key policies during the colonial period was the denial of creolisation. The term ‘African film’ is at best clunky and at worst entirely erroneous. Are we really to apply ethno-nationalism to an art form that is existentially collaborative and by its very nature pastiche? The word ‘Africa’ is applied to the continent and all its diversity like a vast piece of appropriating shrink-wrap. People talk of ‘He’s an African artist’, while never daring to be so vague about their ‘European’ (read Italian, German, etc.) counterparts; a film about Togolese living in Paris is still a ‘European film’. We are labelled precisely because we are not entitled to self-appellation. And we are left with a new ‘South African’ genre defined not by our stories but by our assumption of Western neo-liberal expectations and pre-conditions, as evidenced by recent productions.

Anna Ronquillo: Thanks for making me a hot French woman. But I must ask about my name: ‘Anna Ronquillo’. Doesn’t sound very French to me. Elan Gamaker: I obviously know more about France than you do. AR: Okay, but I do have a French passport. Why did you bring me to South Africa, a place I’m technically not allowed to live in? EG: I have a few feature-length projects on the go, but this one needn’t sit in development hell because it won’t cost millions to make. Also, I dig va-va-voom French dames. AR: No doubt. But why French? Aren’t people going to wonder why I’m in an African film. EG: (quietly seething) Half of Africa is Francophone. What’s an African film? AR: You know, one set in an African city. About African ideals and problems. From what you’ve told me so far, I’m caught working illegally in a Long Street restaurant and have 48 hours to find a husband or I must leave the country. Doesn’t sound very African to me. EG grabs a sharp instrument from the wall.

EG puts down the spear.

AR: Okay, I’ll do it. EG: Of course you will.

AR: So do we find it? EG: I hope, by the end of the production, that it remains impossible to find. Over the next month or two I will encourage all men out there who consider themselves African to come down to the set in mid-September and get on film and show what being African means. Which is absolutely nothing. If I’m in a good mood, you might even end up with a South African passport.

AR: Okay, okay, I get it. Why all the ranting? I thought I just needed to find a husband in 48 hours. EG: True, but the film’s themes are far weightier than its digestible concept. It explores notions of real and figurative liberation, and in a wider context the idea of space: personal, professional, bureaucratic and emotional. In searching for a South African husband, you (and I) are searching for South Africa itself.

AR: African? EG: You betcha.

EG waves the weapon like a true African. EG: Okay, let’s look at some personally experienced examples from South Africa. Soweto: a woman’s lounge is adorned with Fong Kong porcelain tigers her son’s room with posters of (in ascending order) Jesus, Orlando Pirates and Eminem. What’s that? AR: I don’t know. EG: African. Kommetjie beach: Berliners getting sunburnt while reading German translations of Barbara Cartland novels – African. Muizenberg market: a Somali woman trying to sell a Nigerian man a cheap Chinese hi-fi belting out Elvis Presley’s Return to Sender – African. Durban: an Indian-descendant auntie eating a pizza in front of a live match between Manchester United and Liverpool...

out of character

Elan Gamaker is a writer/filmmaker living in Cape Town. For more info on the shooting of “The Search for a South African Husband” and how to become involved visit www.andnu.co.za

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Photography by Tom Buchanan

There are two kinds of designers: those who design to live and those who live design. The latter just canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help themselves. They are the collectors, the collaborators, the compulsive creators. By Jenna Mervis Enter Anne-Sophie Leens, Belgium born, London educated and recent Cape Town convert. She morphs between graphic and web designer, motion animator and music video director, interior designer, photographer and illustrator.

Anne-Sophie Leens’ remarkable artistic maturity towards design, and her non-conformist style makes it seem only rational that Irrational studios came into existence through the symbiosis with Stephen Ekbergh and Damien Stephens. Irrational Studios has a unique approach to work. ‘We do anything that requires good design where people are willing to accept our strategy and our different way of thinking,’ says Leens. ‘We don’t want to compromise, so we are lucky that we can pick our projects.’ They are currently re-designing the Travelstart websites with focus shifted towards usability and user experience by, as Leens puts it, ‘looking at what comes naturally to people, what is intrinsic.’ Designing the most effective way for the consumer to plan the perfect holiday – this is Leens at work.

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Leens at play is snapping photographs of herself and her environment and uploading them onto Flickr, an online photo management and sharing application, creating illustrations with a remarkable ornamental style and working on a music video for East London rapper Trusenz. Inspired by Trusenz battling other rappers at parties, and his impressive skills and stature, Leens decided to turn him into a Godzilla-like figure that moves through a city, ultimately crashing through buildings. Apart from Trusenz – who was filmed against a green screen – the rest of the footage is a montage of photographs brought to life in Photoshop® and After Effects®. ‘I had drawn what my background and angles should be and then went out and took photos around Cape Town to match the drawings as much as possible. It was a process of cutting and remaking my own city. Every single scene has been carefully drawn, matched and pieced together.’ The resulting images have an industrial, raw feel, which compliment the expressive lyrics of Trusenz. Leens conducts creativity with flicks of her wrists. Intricate flourishes tattooed on each arm flow through her fingers into her trademark illustrative style. The same fingers that can compulsively document her context with camera clicks or construct three-dimensional cities with computer software, effortlessly, as instinctive as breathing. www.irrational-studios.com

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imagination factory By Dylan Culhane ÂŚ Images courtesy of Ontwerp

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With divisions in film, motion graphics, animation, illustration and even music, Johannesburg based production house Ontwerp is rapidly emerging as one of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most holistic creative agencies. Perhaps best known for their work on ultra-contemporary television campaigns for Audi and more recently Ford Ka, the Ontwerp coalition led by creative director Anthony Dart provide an expansive range of high-end creative solutions under a single roof. The teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to straddle various forms of media gives them a competitive advantage in an industry where projects generally pass along a chain of independent specialists throughout the course of development and post-production.

Their groundbreaking music video for Lark’s single ‘Moonlight’ has almost single-handedly raised the bar in an industry plagued by cheap mediocrity. Anthony attributes the company’s appeal to their interactive methodology rather than any particular stylistic approach. ‘I don’t feel there is any guiding philosophy behind our work. It’s more like an assortment of ideals mixed together, all of which manifest themselves differently in different projects. More importantly it’s all about establishing a creative environment for us and our clients to work in; a space where the people we work with becomes an integral part of the artistic process. In that sense I suppose we’re quite idealistic, but I think it creates a new way of working. Our clients can just plug into one creative shop and get exactly what they’re after without having to go through five different companies to get there.’ With everything from logo design to soundtrack composition on the menu, it’s hardly surprising that more and more agencies are turning to Ontwerp for unified and highly imaginative branding strategies. Keeping it all in-house also provides the Ontwerp collective with the means to take on independent projects that excite them. Their groundbreaking music video for Lark’s single ‘Moonlight’ has almost single-handedly raised the bar in an industry plagued by cheap mediocrity. Dazzling in its conception and execution, ‘Moonlight’ has challenged many preconceptions about local music videos.

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For Anthony and director Greg Rom, the decision to take on such an ambitious project was as much about showing what can be achieved as anything else. Furthermore, with artistic control over virtually every aspect of production, the piece bears testament to the team’s uncompromising work ethic and stylistic vision. Next on the cards is a collaboration with Waddy Jones (Max Normal, Constructus) that will undoubtedly further this vision and delight fans in the process. When talking about the collective’s distinct aesthetic approach Anthony uses terms like ‘guerrilla corporate, no nonsense, minimal and meticulous’, though attitude always takes priority over any all-encompassing design principle. ‘Design trends are so fickle and recycled that if you get too consumed by them it’s easy to lose sight of what you are trying to achieve. Good design is economical and connects with its audience no matter what shape or form it takes. Developing customised strategic concepts is what really drives us. With each new project we focus on solving the specific problems that arise from its unique requirements.’ The ethos at Ontwerp is to inhabit every brief they tackle and so far this unwavering commitment to innovative, tailor-made product has earned them the trust of both mainstream and underground brands. ‘It’s all about understanding an idea from every conceivable angle in order to produce the highest quality of work,’ Anthony explains. His current emphasis is on expanding the company’s collaborative network with local and international clients, and we can undoubtedly expect some exciting new work from this unique creative syndicate in the future. www.ontwerp.tv

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merging life with art By Athos Kyriakides

Revel Fox cut his cinematic teeth doing short films at the National Film and Television School in England, picking up several short film festival awards along the way. Several stints as a soap opera director back in South Africa followed. Almost six years ago, his idea for a feature film was born. Revel chose to focus on an intimate look into the world of trapeze artists. The topic was close to his heart, having enjoyed a brief but impressionable period as a fledgling trapeze artist himself, under the tutelage of famed grand master Keith Anderson. Although it took him six years to get it made, through several story incarnations, funding obstacles, and general industry apathy, Revel Fox finally introduced himself to the filmmaking world with The Flyer. The film stars Ian van der Heyden, Marcel van Heerden and Kim Engelbrecht. It tells the story of a young street child plucked from obscurity and poverty by a wise old trapeze master who schools him in the tricks of the trade. The filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most powerful and poignant moments occur in the silences that lurk between elements of gangsterism and brief shocking spurts of violence. It is a quality that defines Revel as a filmmaker with his own distinct voice. As a person and a filmmaker he is always looking for the subtle nuances in people and in life. There is a certain tenderness and honesty to his work that is unmistakably his. The Flyer kicked off a slate of South African feature films that broke away from this inflexible methodology. Out went Forgiveness, Red Dust and In My Country, and in came The Flyer, Max and Mona, and Crazy Monkey.

The Flyer’s impact socially and economically on the South African film industry should not be underestimated. It paved the way for recent successes like U Carmen eKhayelitsha winning the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, Yesterday’s international recognition, and then finally all culminating in the Oscar success of Tsotsi. The Flyer itself has gone on to win several international awards at various festivals around Europe and America, most recently at the Pan-Africana Festival in Rome, Italy. Since the release of The Flyer, Revel has since become somewhat of a recluse to the industry. Deciding rather to develop his own personal project and take some freelance work to pay the bills. Revel has been developing a project tentatively titled ‘The Life of Sia’. He describes it as a ‘lyrical story about how addiction can be healed by the power of music and song’. The project was inspired by real events in Revel’s life and borrows loosely from a time of great turmoil. It is very much a labour of love for the Cape Town based filmmaker. He has cast both his daughter, Saanie and his wife, Roberta, in the lead roles. Acclaimed performer Busi Mhlongo makes up the trio of Divas who will act, dance and sing their way through this abstract journey of self-discovery. Revel is shooting it on a shoe-string budget of one million Rand. He cites influences such as Wim Wender’s Buena Vista Social Club and Krystof Kieslowski’s Three Colours Blue when talking about The Life of Sia’s potential. Revel believes the constrictive nature of the budget ironically frees him up to ‘unleash his creative instincts on this semi-autobiographical portrait of life in the city’. They say the best filmmakers make that which they know. If we take this old adage to be true, Revel Fox is clearly headed in the right direction. He has already shot certain musical sequences that will form part of the narrative. The few who have seen the footage to date have been sincerely moved by its raw emotional intensity. Revel’s decision to ‘keep it in the family’ seems to be a masterstroke. It is perhaps the one thing he has been trying to achieve his whole life. Merging life with art.

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Stills from ‘The Flyer’ courtesy of Ster-Kinekor Distribution

As a person and a filmmaker he is always looking for the subtle nuances in people and in life. There’s a certain tenderness and honesty to his work that is unmistakably his.

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kulturtainment eye am hear, see the sound lungelo, the beat junkie an interview with black betty imagine, create, inspire - win with adobe

By Dylan Culane

eye am hear - it’s all akademik

It’s Friday night at the Armchair Theatre and Charles Lee-Thorp (a.k.a. Simstim) is busy doing homework on the stage. He’s testing out theories and validating hypotheses with the fervour of a mad scientist on the verge of a momentous breakthrough. Paul Ressell, his auditory counterpart, is engrossed in his own brand of experimentation; the soft glow of laptop light illuminating an expression of utmost concentration. I feel like a lab rat. An all-seeing, all-dancing guinea pig in an electronic cage. In a follow-up to our feature on VJ culture (Audio-Visual, issue 03), one small seed were invited to the first in a series of events dedicated to the exploration and expansion of visual club culture, collectively labelled Eye Am Hear. The parties will all centre on the launch of a new Humanizer EP (‘Beautifully Empty’ was the first) in conjunction with a VJ set by Simstim. What makes the event unique is its emphasis on identifying and solving some of the fundamental challenges facing ‘Jays’, both Vee and Dee. Furthermore, the live events form the practical component of Lee-Thorp’s BTech diploma in Graphic Design, a pioneering study on the nature of electronic music performance.

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Lee-Thorp argues that profound changes in the means of musical production have compelled the performer to reassess his or her relationship with live audiences. In an era of bedroom studios there is a definite lack of performance identity, with many producers content to draw audiences solely from their own micro-culture. Though perhaps indicative of a trend that defies exclusivity and elitism, this kind of insularity denies the potential to reach broader markets. Radio stations and major music retailers will always be reluctant to support independent producers (particularly producers of electronic music), leaving club performances as the primary vehicle for promotion and sales.

Economics aside, without credible performers rousing those within the micro-culture to experiment with new modes of expression, the scene seems destined to stultify. Ask a rock guitarist why he first picked up a Fender Strat and you’re likely to hear vainglorious tales of near mythical axe-heroes strutting on stage, inspiring them to take up arms and enlist in the rock brigade. Any fan of music will be able to recall that one lifealtering live performance more vividly than a purely aural experience. The DVD market makes trillions of pounds because we all love watching musicians over and over again. For the producer of electronic music there has always seemed to be a disadvantage in this regard since there are only so many ways one can push a button. Though technology has removed this bias to a large extent, most audiences aren’t always aware of how hands-on a performance can be. The onus should be on the performer to emphasise the tactile nature of their act and to incorporate a multi-media dimension. Artists like Humanizer, The Real Estate Agents and Goldfish physically interact with various midi-responsive instruments in order to generate a lost sense of ‘liveness’ to their shows. The blur of hands attacking machinery and the sweat on their brows at the end of a show undoubtedly evokes greater audience appreciation. Moreover, alliances with VJ’s and viewsicians provide an added sensory incentive for the club-goer. Throughout the Eye Am Hear project series, Simstim and Humanizer will be putting more of these theories to the test in an attempt to reposition the role of electronic performers. Each event will incorporate the release of a new Humanizer album, with track-specific visuals for each live show. Eye Am Hear 02 takes place on August 25, so be sure to check it out. Remember: it’s not just a party, it’s an academic investigation.

www.humanizer.co.za

Layout by Romi Martin ¦ Illustration by Romi Martin and Charles Lee-Thorp

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Photograph

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bull er Jan Turn

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‘Collision is pretty much Lungelo’s magnum opus. He performs lead vocals, keyboards, percussion and is the verbally dexterous lead emcee.’ The local music scene has an unhealthy compliment of hip-hop wannabes. There’s a plethora of bling-hungry posers bent on Benzes, Benjamins and bitches. Fed on a diet of MTV-manufactured emcees, aspirant rappers are dying to emulate their American counterparts. That’s why it’s so refreshing to speak to a hip-hop artist who has his roots firmly intact. Lungelo is a local artist who is determined to keep his feet on the ground while following his dreams into the stratosphere. Lungelo Simthembile Lubelwana was born on the 15th of April 1983 in Gugulethu, Cape Town. His love-affair with music began when he heard the church organplayer practicing at the back of the local sweet shop. That man became Lungelo’s first music teacher and secured him a regular gig as the church band’s percussionist/ keyboardist. He studied music all through school before somewhat losing focus after high school. After some false starts, he quickly realised where his true passion lies. He met up with Ryan Beifus and the two poured their collective creativity into recording Lungelo’s debut album.

Collision is a seething mix of driving beats and propulsive rhymes that get the party started and the soul burning in equal measure. It’s one of those rare disks that you don’t have to be in a particular mood for; rather, it’s an eclectic mix of romperstompers and slow-burners that will send you on an aural and emotional bender. It veers from the scuzzy beats of the dancehallflavoured ‘Dirty Girl’ to the bizarre fusion of massive radio single ‘Andalusia’ to the rootsy township-soul of ‘Where I’m From’. ‘Gugs (Gugulethu) is such a massive part of who I am that it infiltrates the music and adds a strong flavour to the mix,’ he says. ‘I don’t like trying to describe my music because I hate to narrow it down that way. All I can say is that it’s a fusion of all the sounds that are inside of me. It’s hip-hop, it’s R&B, it’s township, it’s soul…’ Collision is pretty much Lungelo’s magnum opus. He performs lead vocals, keyboards, percussion and is the verbally dexterous lead emcee. He also co-wrote and co-produced the album slated for release in September. What sets Lungelo apart from his competitors is the amount of passion that tempers his prodigious talent. ‘I’m a total beat-junkie. I wake up in the morning and I start-beatboxing, my phone is full of clips that I’ve recorded… I always have a tune in my head. I get my kicks from putting that out there; trying to get people to connect to what’s going on in my head and my heart’, he says. ‘It’s impossible to dictate what the future holds but I’m going to hold up my side, doing what I love and striving for excellence. At the end of the day, I want people to judge me on my music because at the end of the day, that’s the biggest and best part of me.’

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By SD3000 ¦ Layout by Romi Martin ¦ Photographs by Brett Rubin Make-up by Kate Aldous ¦ Stylist Mandy Hendler

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I don’t know why, but I expected some hardcore rock chick to turn up at my interview with Black Betty. You know the Joan Jet-type that has a black heart and have little teenage boys for breakfast. Maybe I think that because Black Betty is late. Rock and roll-late and not giving a **** about the fact that I am wasting a Saturday morning with a skinny latte in an empty Longstreet Cafe – wait, there goes the phone... Okay they’ll be here in two minutes. Twenty minutes later three young women walk in. Very confident, very energetic. They introduce themselves as Saanie on lead vocals, rhythm guitar and keyboards, Hagar on lead guitar and Galina on violin and backing vocals. This is the core trio of Black Betty, a Cape Town band that started at Zulas open mic nights and quickly progressed through the rest of the city’s live circuit. We talk for a bit and a lot of clichés start flying around – ‘we hate pop music’, ‘we’re not a prissy all girl-band’, ‘we all get along really well’ (shit two of them are even living together), ‘we have a lot of influences...’ (too many, so don’t try and define their music – you won’t know where to file it in a record shop) ‘It’s like rock, blues, and some songs have Celtic, Fado and Balkan influences’. Breathe out. Clichés aside, I found the three of them very honest and passionate about their music – possibly the reason why they are so keen not to be misrepresented.

They’ve been working hard the past six months, juggling degrees and trying to get the band on full speed. They’ve had the usual headaches with band members coming and going – “we’re waiting for the right people to come along – someone that shares our idea of what this band and the music should be.” So when they play out, they use a session drummer and bassist. I’ve been listening to their demo since the interview and I’m impressed. A prissy all girl-band they definitely ain’t. There are a lot of influences in their music. At times Saanie’s vocal style reminded me of Kristin Hersh (the solo stuff not her time with Throwing Muses) and a bit of Janis Joplin, which sits really well with the blues influence. Saanie writes the majority of the songs before it goes to the rest of the band. From the way she talks about her songs you can see she enjoys the writing process. It’s fitting that their name comes from an old blues song, and that Saanie is a huge John Lee Hooker fan. In my opinion a song like ‘Shouting Train’ is probably their best track, mainly because of its beautiful simplicity. For me this is where they are strongest. And for a band so new on the scene this threesome has a lot of potential. I see them cavorting in the same vein as The Kills, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Jet and The Duke Spirit. If only I can get them to play me more of this unidentifiable blues-rock thing they do. I’m prepared to wait...

The Life Aquatic

Sin City

Directed by: Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez Starring: Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro, Clive Owen Category: Drama/Thriller Undoubtedly the most true to form adaptation of any graphic novel, Sin City is truly in a class of its own. Combining slick, computer-generated action with ubernoir styling and hard-boiled dialogue, the film is classic and revolutionary at once. The iconic characters are more pen and ink than flesh and bone, walking the tightrope between salvation and damnation in nefarious Basin City. Violent, sexy and cynical, it speaks to the contemporary urban condition more than we’d care to admit. I was however disappointed by the absence of any special features on the disc since Robert Rodriguez is famously transparent with his technical methodology and many of his previous DVD releases have featured hugely popular ‘crash-course film school’ segments. Fans of the film or the directors are advised to hold out for a more expansive edition.

Y Tu Mama Tambien

(And Your Mother Too)

Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron Starring: Maribel Verdu, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna Category: Drama The story of two over-sexed and idle seventeen year old friends who embark on a road trip with an older woman, Y Tu Mama Tambien is an intimate story that grapples with the complexities of friendship, love and growing up in a very sophisticated fashion. In the mode of most road movies the journey is one of self-discovery, with equal doses of hilarity and human emotion. It’s worth watching as an example of perfectly paced storytelling, though the prospect of seeing Mexican heartthrob Gael Garcia Bernal naked in a swimming pool might be a bigger draw card.

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Culhane by Dylan

Oscar-nominated writer/director Wes Anderson (Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore) pulls together a sterling comedic ensemble in this offbeat tale about an ageing, narcissistic marine explorer on a dubious quest to avenge his partner’s death. The Life Aquatic is arguably one of the most original and utterly hilarious films to emerge from Hollywood in recent years. The music, costumes, set design and cinematography are all outstanding and infuse humour and surrealism into virtually every single moment. Though all the characters are memorable, Bill Murray’s performance as Captain Steve Zissou is endlessly re-watchable and heart-wrenchingly honest. At its core there’s a sense of playfulness in the film that sets it apart from most others.

iews dvd rev

Directed by: Wes Anderson Starring: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe Category: Drama

Gorillaz Demon Days: Live at the Manchester Opera House

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Category: Music

Essentially a live recreation of their chart-topping album of the same name, Demon Days is an event of epic proportions. Set to a backdrop of specifically designed visuals and animations by Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett, there’s an audio-visual cohesion to the performance and the final edit that makes it tremendously appealing to the eyeballs and eardrums. Featuring a children’s choir, gospel singers, a full orchestra and collaborations with Roots Manuva, Ike Turner and a totally wasted Shaun Ryder amongst others, it’s something of a musical extravaganza. Don’t expect to get to know the band on a more personal level though – they’re either silhouetted or animated most of the time.

Kraftwerk Minimum – Maximum Category: Music

While the idea of watching four German men who look like your dad standing motionless behind moog synthesizers for over two hours might not seem like a whole lot of fun, the performance from their 2004 World Tour is something to behold. Lo-fi, Bauhaus projections are timed immaculately to every bleep and drumpad beat as the virtues of bicycles, robots, supermodels, pocket calculators and the Autobahn are extolled in twopart vocoder harmony. Even those of you with the most peripheral interest in electronic music owe it to yourself to invest in Minimum – Maximum. It’s certainly one of the classiest and most well-designed live shows you’re likely to see. Moreover, it’s a testament to an unwavering faith in the future.

Moby: Live Hotel Tour 2005 Category: Music

The title is somewhat misleading since Hotel Tour is simply a live recording of a single show in Belgium in May 2005. Make no mistake though – it’s a rocking and highly energetic performance from electro-pop’s most hardworking vegan. Covering a broad range of Moby’s eclectic repertoire, the show oscillates between emorock, stadium rave and lullaby pop for over two hours. It’s not the most elaborate or well-conceived stage show you’re likely to see, though it does convey a sense of being there. Moby fans will appreciate the inclusion of bonus live tracks, music videos, a short film and a remixed music CD.

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musicreviews by Zane Henry

broken boy soldiers The Raconteurs

The Raconteurs sees White Stripe Jack White hooking up with buddy Brendan Benson and the rhythm section of The Greenhornes to take over the world, one ornery guitar lick at a time. Broken Boy Soldiers is their attempt at melding White’s pyrotechnic guitar playing with Benson’s power-pop sensibility. The songs don’t escape the blues overtone of The White Stripes but they are tempered by Benson’s penchant for catchy choruses and irresistible hooks. The sound is grimy garage rock with an added sheen that comes from actual melodies and thoughtful lyrics. Tracks like ‘Hands’, ‘Level’ and ‘Store Bought Bones’ are studied combinations of pummelling Led Zeppelin riffs and arch Beatles song writing.

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Under the Iron Sea is Keane’s attempt at banishing the ‘difficult second album’ spectre. They’ve been somewhat unfairly dismissed as Coldplay-wannabe bed-wetters after their melancholy debut, Hopes and Fears. Admittedly, their sound is rather maudlin with lead vocalist Tom Chaplin wrapping his dulcet tones around oodles of pounding keyboards and woozy synths. Iron Sea finds them sticking to their no-guitars formula but adding a U2esque widescreen scope. Their songwriting has acquired a welcome depth and sincerity that lift the songs above standard sobby indie fare. There is a focus on solid song structure with strong hooks and driving choruses. The pick of the album is ‘Atlantic’, a brooding paean to love and longing that ends up on just this side of melodrama.

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Under the Iron Sea

lunatico

Gotan Project

Gotan Project consists of a Spaniard and three Parisians. For a band with such diverse heritage, they manage to muster up a remarkably cohesive album. Lunatico is a collection of tango-flavoured confections that won’t be out of place in a smoky Havana café or uber-trendy Parisian nightclubs. The songs flit effortlessly from milonga to hip-hop to prog-jazz without ever losing the listener. There is a slight 70’s vibe to a few of the songs that is bound to get any party started. The sultry Cristina Vilallonga contributes her silky vocal stylings while Philippe Cohen Solal, Eduardo Makaroff and Cristoph H. Müller hold down the glorious noise. They’ve enlisted Argentinean emcees Koxmoz on a few of the songs. It’s quite something to hear Spanish and French vocalists duelling. Whatever they’re saying, it sounds good.

The Garden is Zero 7’s third album and sees them boldly striding into new territory. The sound is still a slinky melange of electronica and trip-hop but this time around there’s an added spoonful of sugar with some funkalicious retro-flavour thrown into the mix. The result is an eclectic album that dances between genrelines without ever jarring the listener. You’ll find yourself humming along to the shiny disco-pop of ‘Throw It All Away’ one second and swooning to the dreamy slip-hop of the celestial ‘Pageant of the Bizarre’ the next. The Garden is an irresistible fusion of sinuous beats and jazzy noodling with a pop sensibility that borders on criminally catchy.

the garden Zero 7

barefoot Barefoot

Barefoot is bizarre. Nice, but bizarre. Sam Obernik and Tommy D cover popular classics in a jazzy, easy-listening style. Marvel as you hear Underworld’s pub-rant, ‘Born Slippy’ reborn as a jazz standard- all broody cello and tinkly piano. Feel unnerved when you hear Run DMC’s seminal rap freak-out, ‘Its Like That’ mutate into faux-cabaret glam-fest. Obernik’s breezy vocals breathe fresh life into well-worn songs while idiosyncratic arrangements twist the original vibes into interesting new shapes. They’ve enlisted a horde of musicians as added artillery. The album is run through with bursts of saxophone, trumpet, trombone and violins. Barefoot’s biggest triumph is producing an album that transcends novelty value and can stand on its own.

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website reviews By Zane Henry

inspiration.eight8.jp

beck.com Anyone who’s ever listened to a Beck album will know how bizarre the man is; an insanely talented musician and a hyperkinetic dancer but utterly bizarre. So it’s rather fitting that his website is as peculiar as he is. Designed in Flash, it’s an insight into the twisted world of Beck. There’s always movement on the monitor, be it a prancing Beck marionette or a masticating giraffe. The look is hillbilly-chic with garish colour-changes and audio-equipment heaped in dark corners. The chaotic look of the site is actually cleverly designed and effective, belying the amount of work that went into it. The retractable menus swoosh cleanly into place with links to news, tour info, a gallery, video vault, online shop and contact details. A nice feature is the Discobox where one can listen to songs from all of his albums while navigating through all that is Beck.

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Inspiration Eight8 is an online showcase for Japanese website designers. The overall look is Spartan with clean lines and tasteful use of negative space. The urban dreamscape aesthetic is very Japanese without resorting to Mangaesque caricatures. The exhibition is divided into five Flash scenes by five different designers. The loading times are extremely long for a couple of them and will chew through any spare bandwidth you have lying around. It’s ultimately worth the wait as the amazing scenes whirl across your monitor. These scenes are interactive as every click and mouse over causes a glorious chain-reaction of colour and movement. Keep an eye out for the flitting whatsits of Scene 1- pure joy. This site definitely lives up to its name.

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coca-colablak.fr Just in case your caffeine levels aren’t quite spiking yet, Coca-Cola is launching a new product. Called Coca-Cola Blak, it’s good old Coke with coffee added to the sugary cocktail; ‘Coke’s effervescence with coffee essence.’ The launch coincides with a media blitz, the jewel of which is this website. Good news: it’s all in French so you won’t have to suffer through soul-sapping PR dross and corporate propaganda. Bad news: navigation is challenging unless you remember those French lessons from high school. The site looks so amazing that it’s more than worth it. The psychedelic design is nicely set off by the brown, yellow and red palette. The menu is set into Gallicly-cool café and lounge scenes with navigation buttons set into the actual pictures. From these you can find out everything about Coca-Cola Blak. In French, of course.

pijin.net Pijin Net is an online game for anyone with a passing interest in photography. It’s a meeting place for enthusiasts to share their work, ideas and inspirations. To play, all you have to do is rate photographs. There are various themes, from ‘nature’ to ‘sport’ to ‘funny’. The level of photography ranges from professional to rank amateur so there’s a huge variety of pictures to pore over. You can read comments, discuss the photos and check out the photographer’s portfolio. Anyone is allowed to join and uploading your own pictures is free. The site itself is designed in Flash with integrated GIF images. Loading times are a bit frustrating but manageable.

Layout by Tanielle Bell

interface

the hands of time

light years

Talk about re-inventing the wheel. The folks at E8 figured it is time to create a whole new way of telling the time. A changed watch for changing times I guess. The E8 watch has been designed by Brieuc du Roscoät for Lexon and uses square LCD blocks instead of hands or digits to indicate time and date. There are four vertical bars on the face with 10 blocks in each and a broken line that indicates the middle to help the counting game along. If the time is 18:01 there would be one block in the first bar, eight in the second, none in the third and one in the fourth. A confusing shift? Actually no. Once you’ve got the hang, it’s actually quite logical. The E8 watch is available from Alphaprod SA1 for R776, 011 467 9296.

This LED panel is for the post millennium Google generation what the lava lamp was for over-heated acid-happy hippies. The stunning piece of mural art measures 30cm x 35cm and uses LEDs – one per inch2 – that fade in and out to simulate trapped fireflies and by doing so create a way chilled ambience. It was created by new-media artist John Flear who appropriated the social theories of the 2005 Nobel laureate to create it. This cool-as-a-choc-nut-sundae firefly box was originally an economic model that explores the complex collective actions that are sparked by individual behaviour. Simply put it was meant to mimic fireflies that group together when it is cold, and move apart when it’s hot. My teenage brother says it best: ‘This box is like totally wicked bro and these fireflies are like trying to communicate with me man…’ Check out their website, www.biteditions.com for a short video demo.

win an E8 watch one small seed is giving away the E8 watch that Giuseppe is flashing on pg 7 to ensure you stay ahead of time. Send your contact details to contact@onesmallseed.com and give us the name of the designer behind the E8’s devilish good looks, to stand a chance.

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touchy feely

matchbox magic

Touch-type keyboards are so 1999. Skip joyously ahead into the future with the Virtual Keyboard – a sharply projected full size QWERTY keyboard that is guaranteed to charm the pants off even the toughest nut. The space-age keyboard uses a combination of laser and infrared to create an invisible circuit that transfers your keystrokes through bluetooth to your PDA, smartphone, PC or laptop – and it works on any flat surface. No Bob, your Doberman’s back is maybe best avoided. It is about the size of a disposable lighter, is great for typing out extra long MMS messages and there is even a setting to simulate the clicking sound of a keyboard. The virtual keyboard retails for $199 (around R1400 depending on the latest government antics) and is available from their website, www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com.

Thought you were hot with your 2mp cellphone camera? Not until you have the ExPlay Nanoprojector my friend. Now you no longer have to restrain your favourite Aunty Mavis’s loveable mug to a 15cm2 screen when you can blast it on to any wall that takes your fancy. ExPlay claims this to be the first match-box size, totally integrated full colour nano-projector engine for mobile devices. It is battery operated and boasts an eye-safe, always focused image with high brightness. The projector can easily be connected to your cellphone, PDA or laptop and uses laser-based diffractive optical technology to create an image of between 17 and 70cm. Sure, this won’t put Ster-kinekor out of business any time soon, but how many people can boast with having a theatre in their pocket? The Nanoprojector has just been fully tested, and will be released into the market soon. Visit their website, www.explay.co.il for more information.

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a creative collaboration featuring

you, Adobe & one small seed magazine

brief: ‘personal vision for your creative future’ We are calling all Photographers, Designers, Illustrators and Visual Artists to participate, by creating an original piece of work using the theme ‘personal vision for your creative future.’ The aim is to explore and express the theme in an unique and personal way, by communicating your relationship with your work, and what your creative future holds. Please follow the guidelines in the creation of your piece. guidelines: - Incorporate something of yourself into the piece (this can be figuratively or metaphorically). - An interaction between ‘yourself’ and your interpretation of ‘personal vision for your future’ should be expressed. - Use an Adobe product to create your artwork. participants: Photographers, Designers, Illustrators and Visual Artists for print media. Entries can be submitted by individuals or in a collective capacity. Collective work, would ideally incorporate creatives from varied creative spheres collaborating to create one piece of work, taking their collective ideals and visions into consideration. technical: - Artwork should be CMYK, 300 dpi, A3 (297mm x 420mm).

A 72dpi jpg preview is to be submitted to enter the competition, the final files will be requested from relevant parties.

- Accepted file formats, for final entry are as follows: tif, pdf, eps. - Photographic images, illustrations, typography and vector illustrations can be used in conjunction with each other or separately. prizes: A first place prize of a full Adobe Creative Suite 2, a second prize of 2 Adobe software packages, Photoshop CS2 and Illustrator CS2, and a third prize of 1 Adobe software package, Photoshop CS2. (Please note for collective entries, that only one prize will be awared per winning entry.)

Winning entries will be showcased in the following issue of one small seed. Selected entries will also be showcased on www.onesmallseed.co.za register: To receive a registration pack, please email contact@onesmallseed.com, with the subject ‘competition registration’. All entries require registration to be accepted. registration deadline: 15 September 2006 final deadline: 2 October 2006

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6.0 Megapixels 3.0" LCD Screen 3x Optical Zoom DIGIC II Processor For more information, contact your local Canon Dealer, visit www.canon.co.za or call 0800 004 937